“There was some ineligibility in the rules for the club eights,” said five-seat David Bowen. “If anybody has placed in the top five of any event at the Charles in the last five years, they’re automatically disqualified.”

Some of Harvard’s rowers had placed in the top five as freshman, and the club eight went home empty-handed.

“We ran down to the Eliot Bridge and they were just like, ‘No, thanks for coming,’” Bowen said. “We weren’t really in it for the medals, but it was disappointing.”

The Harvard varsity lightweights also saw action on Sunday, and they too experienced disappointment at the hands of other university crews. The Naval Academy, a perennial lightweight power, was the first collegiate squad to cross the line and finished second, followed by Princeton and Yale. The Crimson’s top entry came in seventh overall, despite only trailing eventual winner New York Athletic Club (NYAC) by six seconds near the halfway point. Harvard fell off the pace with about half a mile left, and the race turned into a duel between Navy and NYAC. The second Crimson lightweight eight placed 10th.

An additional Harvard lightweight four competed yesterday, placing 10th overall.

RADCLIFFE

The Radcliffe crews enjoyed success comparable to the men’s over the weekend, although an initial 30-second penalty in the Women’s Lightweight Four race nearly cost the Black and White a first-place finish in the Lightweight Fours. After a scratch in the lightweight eight race—this fall, only seven varsity lightweight rowers are primed for competition—the women’s four crossed the finish line first. But judges assessed the Radcliffe boat a crippling penalty for interference against the Georgetown crew, and the once-champion lightweight four fell to sixth place.

“As we were going under the Anderson Bridge right in front of the boathouse, we were overtaking Georgetown and they didn’t yield to us,” junior two-seat Sarah Bates said. “Our coxswain was steering an amazing course through the turn, but because the Georgetown boat wouldn’t move we ended up clashing oars and having to stop completely.”

Despite the miscommunication, Radcliffe held a nine-second advantage over the field halfway into the race. Four rowing clubs—Undine Barge Club, Brock University Rowing Club, Port Moody Rowing Centre and Boston’s Community Rowing, Inc.—fell behind the Radcliffe four from the beginning, and rival Princeton was 16 seconds behind the Black and White at the first marker.

Coming into the last half mile of the race, Radcliffe maintained a six-second lead over a moving Undine Barge Club crew, and its margin over Princeton had swelled to 23 seconds.

“When you have something like that that happens to your boat it actually helps,” captain stroke Ame Bothwell said. “It adds adrenaline and gives you a rush to help you gain what you just lost.”

The dominant Radcliffe group crossed the line more than five seconds in front of the nearest finisher, but a group of judges destroyed any post-race euphoria in the boat. The last-place Georgetown boat protested the Radcliffe coxswain’s maneuver, and the Black and White were docked 30 seconds from their winning time. Radcliffe coach Liz O’Leary filed a counter-complaint against the call. By 9:40 p.m. last night, Radcliffe had been restored as champion of the lightweight four category.

“We’ve always gotten second place in the eight category, so this will be a first gold,” Bothwell said.

The varsity heavyweights didn’t share the lightweights’ luck against Princeton. The Tigers dominated the women’s varsity heavyweight event, finishing first amongst intercollegiate crews yesterday. The Dutch rowing club ASR Nereus bested Princeton by two seconds for the overall crown, and Yale finished third.

The Black and White’s varsity eight came in eighth, despite an early lead over fifth-place finisher Virginia.